In Canada’s most bilingual province, nationalist elites in politics and media routinely discourage the use of English publicly despite often speaking it fluently themselves. “They fail because Quebec isn’t attracted to bilingual leaders from outside Quebec,” Whyte wrote with misplaced confidence. Stephen Harper accepted the criticism about his lack of French proficiency and, to his credit, became functionally bilingual during his tenure. Even loose bilingual requirements by federal parties for prospective MPs would demonstrate not only tolerance toward francophones but a deeper understanding of domestic and foreign politics. Dan Delmar is a political commentator and managing partner, public relations at TNKR Media.

Source: National Post January 30, 2020 19:41 UTC